Introduction

While large capacity hard disk drives or HDDs are commonplace for cold storage in the data center, the emergence of larger capacity NVMe SSDs has made boistering headlines. These 2.5” SSDs running on PCIe Gen 4 lanes, come in astronomical sizes; 15TBs, 30TBs, and 61.44TBs of fast NVMe SSD storage.

But why do these huge SSDs exist? How did they fit so much capacity in a small 2.5” U.2 form factor? And why will these large-capacity drives change the way we store data?

How Does a Multi-TB NVMe SSD Exist?

The most accepted form of flash memory is TLC NAND found on most consumer drives like M.2 and U.2 NVMe storage. Kioxia stuffed 15TB worth of TCL NAND storage in their Kioxia CD8 NVMe SSD. However, to get to the mind-boggling 30TB and 61.44TB density, the Solidigm P5336 and the new Samsung BM1743 use the infamous QLC NAND which trades for write endurance for higher capacity. Let's go over QLC and TLC really quickly and why QLC isn't as bad as storage enthusiasts make it out to be.

QLC NAND stores 4 bits per cell, while TLC NAND stores 3 bits per cell. Considering each bit to be a piece of data stored QLC is more cost-effective and higher in storage density. However, QLC’s increased bit count per cell reduces performance, particularly in write operations, and shortens its write endurance compared to TLC. As a result, QLC SSDs are generally slower in write-heavy tasks and wear out more quickly due to their limited program/erase cycles.

TLC NAND strikes a balance between performance, endurance, and cost. It offers faster speeds and better durability than QLC, making it more suitable for performance-critical applications such as gaming, content creation, and heavy workloads. In contrast, QLC is more budget-friendly and ideal for read-intensive or general-purpose storage where cost and capacity are prioritized over speed and theoretical resilience. The advancements in QLC NAND are starting to curb its disadvantages, especially with these higher capacity drives bursting into the market.

Why Deploy High Density 61.44TB SSD?

These high density QLC NVMe SSDs are perfect for write-onceread-a-lot workloads like photo libraries, security footage, and high file size cold storage. Large Capacity NVMe SSDs are utilized in workloads similar to standard hard drives and in fact, are designed to replace them. So why pay the extra cost for these SSDs and why QLC is the new wave for high capacity SSD storage?

• Read and Write Speed: SSDs by nature outperform HDDs in sequential reads and writes. QLC and TLC read speeds are similar in performance but QLC loses in write performance. However, the loss in write speed is the tradeoff for higher capacity. If we utilize QLC NAND SSDs in workloads with low write requirements we can minimize its flaw while retaining its read speed and capacity advantage.
• Endurance: When talking about write endurance, the standard is called drive writes per day (DWPD) which is inherently calculated by capacity. If the write endurance of a 61.44TB drive is 0.58 DWPD you can still write 36TB of data every single day for its 5-year lifetime. 36TB every day is a whole lot of data. DWPD is an important metric for low capacity drives and doesn't necessarily impact large capacity drives.
• Reliability: The largest HDD on the market in 2024 you can purchase is 24TB. Therefore to store 61.44TB of data, we currently require 3 hard drives, each of which has a higher chance of failure than standard SSDs due to moving parts and lower impact protection. This is important for edge applications like moving cameras, space applications, and more where the storage device is moving.

High Density TLC SSDs like the Kioxia CD8 hit 15TB capacity which is plenty of storage and balanced performance but for peak density per 2.5" drive with ample read, the 61.44TB Solidigm P5336 or soon-to-be-released Samsung BM1743 will change the storage industry by offering easily the fastest and highest density petabyte NVMe storage ever.

Industries that Can Utilize High Density NVMe SSDs

As mentioned before, workloads that have a high-read-low-write ratio can leverage the density of these QLC-based 61.44TB NVMe SSDs. If your deployment uses HDDs for warm storage where data is often accessed but rarely changed, you can dramatically increase read speedups by replacing spinning disks with NVMe SSDs. Some use cases include:

• Space photography and telescope imaging
• Cyro-Electron Microscopy
• Media and File storage
• Data Store for Data Analytics
• Edge Security Cameras

It is important to note that Hard Drives are often never deployed in the field due to their fragility. A bumpy truck or transport can knock bits out of wack causing files to become corrupt. Hard Drives are also quite large at 3.5" and are heavy due to the mechanical spinning platters and magnets inside. For a barebones deployment, SSDs would best suit the deployment for their lack of moving parts, compact 2.5" form factor, and all-in-one 61.44TB capacity.

Have any questions about storage or want to configure a dedicated flash storage server? Contact SabrePC today and inquire today!